The bad subtitles are the first tip-off that Hong Kong movies aren't really aimed
at the general English-speaking public. Often, the subtitles are outright omitted,
and the video covers don't even offer English credits or synopses. Luckily, the staff
at I Luv Video, Austin's premiere source for HK movies, stick their own helpful tips
and critiques on the movies. Exultant praise or raging debates may plaster a box,
but most comments are succinct ("I love this movie more than my parents - Scott")
and intensely personal ("Alright, forget Grand Master of Shaolin being
my #3 favorite training film - Jamie").

I asked Jamie and Scott specifically what the aspiring HK connoisseur should see
once they've traversed the entry-level John Woo/Jackie Chan/Ringo Lam fare. Both
recommended Zu: Warriors of Magic Mountain, a seminal adventure movie with
elements of Chinese mythology. It's directed by Tsui Hark, who, according to Scott,
"pretty much created what the HK scene is today." Zu is a gaudy,
fluidly choreographed, frantically paced tale of demons and sorcerers that may be
too much for the novice. "You've got to get used to the absurdity sometime,"
advises Jamie. Hark's directorial talents are also on display in period films like
Peking Opera Blues, the epic Once Upon a Time in China series, and
The Blade, a dazzling update of the One-Armed Swordsman films.

Scott thinks that God of Gamblers, a phenomenal success throughout Asia,
is a good litmus test for beginners. Super-smooth Chow Yun-Fat plays an eerily talented
gambler who bangs his head and reverts to a childlike state. If you can follow this
movie as it swings from brutal action to melodrama to ridiculously low comedy, you
will probably appreciate the less compartmentalized nature of HK movies in general.
Director Wong Jing has a deranged comic sensibility that's also on display in Holy
Weapon, the adults-only Naked Killer, and New Legend of Shaolin,
a "kiddie" picture that no child under 36 should be allowed to watch. John
Woo paused in the midst of his triumvirate of action masterpieces (The Killer,
Bullet in the Head, Hard-Boiled) to make Once a Thief, a light spoof of
Jules and Jim set in a world of globe-trotting jewel thieves.

In Hong Kong, Woo was famous for Airplane!-type comedies long before he
started to make brooding Heroic Bloodshed movies, and his humor is surprisingly
agile here.

The Chinese Feast, a story of the three-day, 100-course Han Qing Imperial
banquet, is another accessible and extremely sharp comedy from Tsui Hark. The movie
culminates with rival restaurateurs competing to turn bear paw, elephant trunk, and
monkey brain into the most delicious entrées the world has ever known. The stylized
cooking sequences are as swift and imaginative as the best kung fu fights.

Like the acrobatic Sex and Zen, Chinese Feast shows that HK movies
celebrate motion and visual wit, not simply violence. And the bad subtitles are simply
for fun.

Wes Craven's comeback movie, a film that single-handedly revived the horror genre,
the scariest movie in a decade, the soon-to-be highest-grossing picture under the
Miramax banner, MTV's just-voted Movie of the Year, maybe the first movie to successfully
blend true terror with comedy and farce... Screamhas created so many waves
since its release barely six months ago that it deserves a look if for no other reason
than the above. But the film actually lives up to the hype, largely due to Kevin
Williamson's brilliant genre-colliding script that serves up tongue-in-cheek humor
with liberal portions of gore gore gore, all while teaching your not-so-usual bunch
of hapless teens some important lessons about when and when not to run up the stairs.
Already a cult classic among the teen set, it's going to be a bitch tracking down
a copy at the video store. But with Scream 2 and 3 already in the works,
you may just want to wait for the next one.